Abstract

While the evolution of head-mounted displays helps to popularize Mixed Reality, this contribution builds on an experimental project (MiRA) which provides a touchless, interactive perspective illusion that virtually completes exhibited artifacts through projections. This paper explores the possibilities of adapting such an interaction paradigm to the needs of users with special needs who do not conform to social standards. The accessibility of museums, websites, and user interfaces has received a lot of attention. However, since prior research on the accessibility of mixed-reality museum installations is relatively limited, this contribution aims to be a useful resource about how to approach Extended Reality (XR). As a literature review, this research is based on a qualitative approach to the issue. A total of fifty studies on accessibility and social inclusion were selected, in both museum and XR contexts, identifying three intervention categories: disabled, elderly, and neurodivergent people. Furthermore, the research revealed a series of accessibility guidelines that were applied to the current project to identify areas for improvement. Although the MiRA project’s use of a depth camera and projections suggested an approachable interaction for any type of visitor, this study discovered gaps in its accessibility. To make the proposed system of interactive museum projections accessible to visitors with specific needs, rules extrapolated from the fields of accessibility in museums, video games, and user interfaces were applied. The observations made in this study can be implemented to improve accessibility in this and other projects of Spatial Augmented Reality.